I. Technical Field
The present invention relates to power operated vehicle seats, and more particularly, to a remote power seat control system and method.
II. Discussion of the Related Art
A power seating system for an automotive vehicle has a seat assembly that is generally equipped with a variety of seating posture adjustment devices working under motor control. Such a seat assembly may be moved forward or backward, up or down, the incline or tilt of the seat assembly may be adjusted, and the position of the headrest may be adjusted as well. In addition, consumer demand has resulted in further enhancements to the power seating system such as, for example, a lumbar support adjustment, as well as a seat heater. User-actuated switches for controlling the foregoing features (as well as others) have conventionally been located on a lower portion of the seat assembly where the user will have relatively easy access to the switches. However, for a variety of reasons, including user-convenience, such user-actuated switches have also been located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle away from the seat assembly. For example, these locations may include an interior vehicle door panel, an instrument panel, and a center console. The remotely located user-actuated switches are typically connected to the power seat assembly by a wiring harness.
Several problems arise from the use of wiring harnesses in systems having remotely-located switch configurations. One problem involves the large amount of labor required for installation, which may involve routing the harness through complex door, instrument panel and console structures. In addition, servicing the wiring harness after installation is difficult due to its location. Further, the wiring harness can develop short circuits and/or open circuits after installation, which may impair the operability of the power seating system functions. Moreover, the wiring harness may rattle during vehicle operation, which is undesirable from the user""s point of view. Finally, wiring harnesses conventionally are relatively heavy (i.e., increase the weight of the vehicle), bulky, and expensive. As more and more features are added to power seating systems, the complexity and size of the wiring harnesses used also increases, thereby exacerbating the above-identified problems.
As further background, it is known to provide, generally, a wireless remote control for a power seating system; however, the remote control in such a system only provides the capability to command the seat to move to a predetermined position (i.e., there is no remote adjustment of the seat position, only a recall command to a predetermined position). Such a remote control system is thus of limited or of no value in adjusting the features associated with common power seating systems.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a multi-function power seating system that minimizes or eliminates one or more of the problems as set forth above.
It is an object of the present invention to minimize or eliminate the problems and disadvantages associated with conventional power seating systems that have function controls that are not mounted on the seat itself.
In order to achieve this and other objects, according to the present invention, a power seating system is provided that includes four (4) major parts: a selector means, a control means, a seat function means, and means for communicating command signals from the selector means to the control means by way of electromagnetic radiation. The selector means includes a plurality of user-actuated switches for generating one or more command signals. The command signals are configured to adjust the position of a vehicle seat assembly throughout its range of motion. The control means is responsive to the command signals for generating one or more control signals. The seat function means is provided for controlling the functions or features associated with the seat assembly and includes means for adjusting the position of the seat assembly in accordance with the control signals. Significantly, by communicating the command signals from the selector means to the control means by way of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., in a wireless fashion), the wiring harness required by conventional systems may be eliminated. Eliminating the wiring harness in turn minimizes and/or eliminates the extensive labor and expense generally needed to manufacture, install and service the wiring harness.
In a preferred embodiment, the means for communicating the command signals includes radio-frequency (RF) transmission means for generating RF signals corresponding to the command signals. The communicating means in this embodiment further includes RF reception means responsive to the generated RF signals for reproducing the command signals. The reproduced command signals may then be suitably processed by the control means.
In an alternate embodiment, the communicating means includes light emitting means for generating light signals corresponding to the command signals. The communicating means in this embodiment further includes light reception means responsive to the generated light signals for reproducing the command signals, which may then be processed by the control means as described above.